Crucial vote at National Assembly for Wales this month (4 January 2019)

What is happening?

On January 16 2019, Assembly Members will have a crucial decision to make on the future of autism in Wales with a vote on the Autism (Wales) Bill. If enough AMs support the Bill, it will proceed to the next stage, where it can be further developed and amended to ensure that it’s as strong and effective as possible for the 34,000 autistic people in Wales and their families.

If the Bill doesn’t receive enough support, it will fall and will not become law. We need to stop this from happening.

Why

The Autism (Wales) Bill has been developed by Paul Davies AM, following lengthy consultation with autistic people, their families and professionals across Wales and is aimed at protecting and promoting the rights of autistic people in law.

Assembly Committee reports published as part of this process have also shown that urgent action is needed to improve the services and support available.

We began supporting the call for specific autism legislation in 2015 and our members and supporters have played a huge part, through our Your Act campaign, in ensuring that this new law will meet the needs of autistic people and families in Wales.

How you can help today

Contact your Assembly Members and ask them to support the Bill. Take our action and let your AMs know why they should vote in favour of the Autism (Wales) Bill.

Join us for the debate. The debate will take place on 16 January in the Senedd at the National Assembly for Wales. While there isn’t an exact time allocated, we anticipate the debate will begin between 3.30pm and 4pm*, and will last for an hour. Voting time is likely to take place later in the afternoon.

Whilst you don’t need to book your place ahead, to be certain of a place in the public gallery, you may want to contact the National Assembly to reserve a seat. You can find out more about visiting the Senedd with specific information for autistic visitors.